Websites take a lot of resources to create and maintain, so naturally we want to have information about how they’re performing. Website analytics provide not only data about website traffic, but they can be studied to help you maximize your marketing budget.

Analytics measure:

Website visits

Individual page clicks

Time spent on site

Which landing page (link to call to action post) results in the greatest number of conversions (users who make a purchase)

Nations that visitors are coming from

Demographic information of visitors (age and gender)

Behavior: new vs. returning, frequency and recency, engagement

The device and browser they are using to access the site

Each of these points can be mined for valuable information about current and potential customers and can tell you what parts of your marketing are yielding the greatest return on your investment.

As a certified Google Partner, the professionals at Brockett Creative Group can create and analyze a website analytics account for you. To learn more email or call us at 315-797-5088.

In order to make your website accessible on the World Wide Web, you need to have it hosted. With website hosting, your hosting service houses your website on its server and connects it to the Internet.

Website hosting is different from your site’s actual domain name. Like hosting, domain names are renewed on a yearly basis, so the two are often confused. Think of them this way: the domain name is like your website’s street address, but the hosting is its actual home.

Hosting can vary based on the complexity of your website – a static, one-page website will only need the most basic hosting, while sites that will employ a Content Management System (CMS) or use eCommerce will require hosting that can accommodate databases and applications that are part of the CMS, such as a database of news articles. If you will have data that should be kept secure (credit cards numbers, personally identifiable information, et al), you will need a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate through your website host.

Brockett Creative Group’s hosting through its subsidiary tSpark allows you to use the hosting that you need based on your website requirements. tSpark hosting also guarantees a 99.95% uptime, because your website isn’t effective if it’s not connecting to the Internet.

To learn more about hosting with tSpark, email or call us at 315-797-5088.

Email marketing has been around for what seems like forever. From newsletters to product announcements to coupons, chances are that if you have an email address, you’re subscribed to some form of email marketing.

With so much emphasis put on social media lately, it’s easy to forget about the benefits of a good ol’ email marketing campaign. Here are some of the reasons that we at Brockett Creative Group advise so many clients to choose this messaging method:

Email marketing has the best return on investment out of all other marketing efforts.

Recipients opt in, so they are choosing to engage with your brand. There is something about your product or service that your subscribers like, to the point that they invite your messages into their Inboxes (better than the Spam folder!). Your email communications help build the relationship between your brand and your customers (or even your brand and your vendors).

Email marketing is far more affordable than mailing print pieces. The costs of design, printing, and postage add up quickly, and their combined cost could break your budget in no time.

With the Internet and email being accessed on mobile devices, email marketing that is mobile friendly (link to RWD post) allows your audience to view your pieces while on the go.

For eCommerce sites, an automatically generated message can thank your customers for a purchase or donation immediately, which strengthens the relationship between your brand and the consumer.

Newsletter/marketing software allows for personalization: it is possible to have name and list segmentation for recipients, so that messages can be targeted to specific demographics, and the logo/colors/branding for the sender match your corporate identity.

Email marketing allows you to communicate in real time: you can make your consumers aware of recalls, surprise sales, and response to issue (e.g. to clarify that you do not use a controversial product that’s been in the news) instantly.

It is very easy to track who is opening your email marketing messages and to see who is clicking through the links in them; this helps you learn about your customers’ behavior and find out what caught their attention, what interested them, and what didn’t!

Email marketing is shareable to social media platforms, so recipients can share with their friends and followers, taking your message that much further.

Good email marketing pieces will drive recipients to your website, where they will learn about your brand, and eventually take action.

With Approximately 2.6 billion email users worldwide, with an average of 1.7 accounts per user , why wouldn’t you use this efficient and cost-effective method of reaching an audience?

Is your daily planner already maxed out, with no time to put together email marketing? BCG can design the look, manage the address list, write the letter/advertising piece, and send it on your behalf. Call us at 315-797-5088 or shoot us an email, and let’s discuss!

It may be easy to dismiss traditional marketing in the Internet Age, but it’s not necessarily wise. Although the numbers are certainly smaller than they were in their heyday, people still pay attention to television and print advertising.

Advertising on television and in newspapers, professional publications, and periodicals have some strong advantages over online advertising. When we use the Internet, we are more distracted by scrolling, video, and pop-ups, diverting our attention from online ads. Television and print advertising encroach less on the customer’s experience – they know how to expect these advertisements and don’t have to worry about pop-ups or any other intrusive ads.

Readers tend to linger more over printed materials than they do for the very same articles online, perhaps due an affection for reading print or simply because it’s more comfortable for the eyes. Many people enjoy the experience printed materials offer – they have a feel and sometimes a scent that connect with the consumer on an emotional level (just like the people who prefer books over e-readers). Print media also has great design flexibility; you can use a wider range of designs, allowing for an attention-getting piece, and the variety of papers available for print enhance both the design and the consumer’s experience. Ironically, the fact that fewer businesses are using direct mail has made recipients pay more attention to the pieces that they do receive rather than disregarding them.

Television advertising also retains value today. It can be integrated with your print and online advertising for a complete campaign, or it can stand alone. Television remains popular with Baby Boomers and Generation X-ers who, as of this writing, are established in careers or retired and are likely to have more disposable income than Generation Y or Millenials. Paid television advertising also retains the top spot for consumers learning about new products and services. Television ads also outpace Internet marketing when it comes to influencing consumers’ purchasing decisions.

For many brands, print and television advertising has the potential to be very beneficial. Take advantage of the opportunities afforded by traditional marketing by emailing or calling BCG at 315-797-5088.

When you’re running a business in any capacity, you want to focus on moving forward and upward, not get bogged down in minutia. Among the more dreaded of these tasks is media buying, or the purchase and placement of advertisements for television, radio, and print.

Considerations that go into a media buy include:

Time slot

Ad length (radio and television) or size (print)

Channel(s)

Publication(s)

Page placement (print)

There are several benefits to using an agency such as Brockett Creative Group to do your media buying. The agency advocates for your business (and your budget) and monitors and audits all aspects of the media buy on your behalf. We will get tear sheets – which help determine if the ad was 100% accurate – as well as spot check ads by tuning in or reviewing them in the publication.

At times, print ads can be printed where the image is blurred, was printed in black and white rather than color, with images cut off, or an entirely wrong ad was run. Similarly, with television and radio advertising, the ads running may be cut short or be the wrong ad. The agency then works on your behalf with the media outlet to make good on any of these errors.

An advertising agency like Brockett Creative Group can not only take on this duty for you, but we can also work on the advertisements themselves. Email or call us at 315-797-5088 to get buying those ad placements!

Online and offline marketing strategies can be very effective when done right. Both methods are designed to attract the attention of potential customers and continue to hold the attention (and hopefully affection) of current customers.

There are several methods Brockett Creative Group uses to integrate these two facets of brand marketing:

We ensure that your online and offline marketing efforts have a consistent look and message, so that the consumer’s opinion of your brand is reinforced each time they see one of your marketing pieces (be it a business card or an advertisement on YouTube).

Quick Response (QR) Codes can also be an effective marketing tool. They can be used on business cards so that contact information can be loaded and saved directly to one’s contact list, they can be used on print ads to take the consumer to the commerce page on your website, or they can be used on a poster in a window so passersby can get information about an upcoming event.

Trackable links are used to show you what is driving traffic to your website. For example, you may include a coupon in a specific publication with a unique url (let’s say yourproduct.com/coupon). The consumer types that address into their browser to visit the page, and your analytics will tell you that the traffic came from your investment in the publication. Not only will your website get more hits, but you will also be able to tell which marketing vehicles provide you with the greatest return on investment, allowing you to strategically spend your marketing budget.

To begin integrating your online and offline marketing, email or call Brockett Creative Group at 315-797-5088.

Chances are, the first thing you notice about a website is how it looks – a good-looking website is far more likely to engage you than one that is displeasing to look at for any reason. The look is also what many people think of first when it comes to website design, but there is much more to it than one might first imagine.

Like your logo, your website is a representation of your brand that should reflect your corporate purpose and values. Its design should incorporate the various aspects of your brand identity (logo, colors, etc.) into a cohesive site that is pleasing to the eye.

In addition to having the right look, a website must also be designed to be functional and user-friendly. You could have the most attractive website that was ever created, but if visitors cannot navigate and use it easily, it will be for naught. Sitemaps and wireframes are the first steps to structuring a website that will offer users a positive web experience – they’re like blueprints for a building. From there, we can accommodate any number of website applications, from photo galleries to contact forms to shopping carts.

The ever-growing use of mobile technology also impacts website design. Responsive Web Design(RWD) allows your website to perform optimally on such mobile devices as smartphones and tablets. Good RWD allows users to view and interact with the site as easily and comprehensively as you can on a desktop or notebook. eCommerce sites can also be adapted with RWD, so customers can make purchases at their convenience.

At Brockett Creative Group, we design your website with both form and functionality in mind – the end products reflects your brand and provides a quality user experience. Email us or call us at 315-797-5088, and let’s discuss how we can optimize your website’s design.